What's In Your Water? Discover Ways To Guarantee Your Water Is Pure
http://www.womensloft.com/articles/864/1/Whats-In-Your-Water-Discover-Ways-To-Guarantee-Your-Water-Is-Pure/Page1.html
Julie Johnson
The Berkey Water Filter will provide reliable and user-friendly water purification in both normal and hostile filtration environments where electricity is not available. Both the Big Berkey and Berkey Light can easily clean ordinary tap water, yet are powerful enough to effectively handle raw water from lakes and streams. By Julie Johnson
Published on March 15, 2008
Life as we know it would not go on without water But where can one find a source of pure water
Life as we know it would not go on without water. But where can one find a source of pure water?
A camper might trust a babbling stream as a source of uncontaminated water. Yet, it might contain bacteria, undetected by sight or smell. You could first, filter such water through a sheet to eliminate solids. Then always boil spring water for ten minutes or treat it with purification tablets. If the water is murky, use more than one tablet. Of course, portable filtering units are available which make purification much simpler.
Is well water safe? After all, the ground has successfully cleaned water for centuries. Unfortunately, the use of insecticides and fertilizers as well as manufacturing wastes have at times added poisons to ground water. Always have questionable water tested to be sure it is safe for drinking.
Surely city water is safe, isn’t it? It must pass regular inspections with a minimum of pollutants. But what is a safe level of poison? The official city water report for one midwestern city lists fourteen contaminants, including lead, nitrate, barium, copper, though none was in violation. However, comparing this report with the health effects of these listed contaminants is disconcerting. The potential problems include cancer, nausea, child development delay, numbness, and even death. Will there be extended health issues resulting from drinking this city water? No one wants to be a statistic.
Bottled water heads the list of replacements for city water. However, recent reports indicate as much as 25% is actually just bottled faucet water. Furthermore, plastic containers may add additional contaminants.
For those desiring to invest in a water cleaning system, note the difference between water filtration and water purification. Filtration removes some of the contaminants including bacteria while purification also removes viruses that may be found in water. A comparison chart will show the effectiveness of some units. The general rule is, the more you spend on the unit, the better it filters, and, in the long run, the cheaper a gallon of pure water is.
Charcoal filter pitchers remove many contaminants bu, et do not purify the water. The better filters, such as those on a Berkey unit, use a core made from carbon, ceramic, or fiberglass. Reverse osmosis systems do an excellent job of filtering out the contaminants, but need an additional ultraviolet light to purify the filtered water. Systems such as eSpring both filter the water with charcoal and also purify it with ultraviolet light. Such systems are relatively expensive over faucet units but for some people, the confidence their water is pure is worth the cost. Others have opted to spend more on a whole house unit since then all faucets provide drinkable water. Also evidence seems to indicate that chlorine in water can even be absorbed through the skin during a shower or bath.
Clean water is an investment. The bottom line should be not just the cost but also the effectiveness of a system. Investigating one’s options is time well spent to assure a family’s future good health.
A camper might trust a babbling stream as a source of uncontaminated water. Yet, it might contain bacteria, undetected by sight or smell. You could first, filter such water through a sheet to eliminate solids. Then always boil spring water for ten minutes or treat it with purification tablets. If the water is murky, use more than one tablet. Of course, portable filtering units are available which make purification much simpler.
Is well water safe? After all, the ground has successfully cleaned water for centuries. Unfortunately, the use of insecticides and fertilizers as well as manufacturing wastes have at times added poisons to ground water. Always have questionable water tested to be sure it is safe for drinking.
Surely city water is safe, isn’t it? It must pass regular inspections with a minimum of pollutants. But what is a safe level of poison? The official city water report for one midwestern city lists fourteen contaminants, including lead, nitrate, barium, copper, though none was in violation. However, comparing this report with the health effects of these listed contaminants is disconcerting. The potential problems include cancer, nausea, child development delay, numbness, and even death. Will there be extended health issues resulting from drinking this city water? No one wants to be a statistic.
Bottled water heads the list of replacements for city water. However, recent reports indicate as much as 25% is actually just bottled faucet water. Furthermore, plastic containers may add additional contaminants.
For those desiring to invest in a water cleaning system, note the difference between water filtration and water purification. Filtration removes some of the contaminants including bacteria while purification also removes viruses that may be found in water. A comparison chart will show the effectiveness of some units. The general rule is, the more you spend on the unit, the better it filters, and, in the long run, the cheaper a gallon of pure water is.
Charcoal filter pitchers remove many contaminants bu, et do not purify the water. The better filters, such as those on a Berkey unit, use a core made from carbon, ceramic, or fiberglass. Reverse osmosis systems do an excellent job of filtering out the contaminants, but need an additional ultraviolet light to purify the filtered water. Systems such as eSpring both filter the water with charcoal and also purify it with ultraviolet light. Such systems are relatively expensive over faucet units but for some people, the confidence their water is pure is worth the cost. Others have opted to spend more on a whole house unit since then all faucets provide drinkable water. Also evidence seems to indicate that chlorine in water can even be absorbed through the skin during a shower or bath.
Clean water is an investment. The bottom line should be not just the cost but also the effectiveness of a system. Investigating one’s options is time well spent to assure a family’s future good health.